WASHINGTON — Federal authorities have charged two Chinese nationals with smuggling into the U.S. a fungus that could cause significant damage to crops of wheat, barley, maize and rice and has been described as a “potential agroterrorism weapon.”
Tuesday’s announcement has triggered calls here to revive the China Initiative, which was established by the U.S. Department of Justice in the first administration of President Donald Trump to combat industrial espionage. The program was ended in February 2022 by then-President Joe Biden’s administration amid accusations of racial discrimination against Chinese and Chinese American scientists.
